New Delhi: Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reliance Retail’s JioMart towards its efforts to help enhance the outreach of the products of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) thereby empowering the rural SHG artisans.
Speaking on the occasion, Additional Secretary, Rural Livelihoods, Ministry of Rural Development Charanjit Singh said that this collaboration will enable SHGs to be on-boarded as sellers onto the e-commerce fold on JioMart and this initiative will further boost MoRD’s provision under the SARAS collection to be available to a larger consumer base. With this alliance, SHGs will get to widen their market and visibility and offer their curated products to customers of JioMart across India. As part of the partnership between MoRD and JioMart, once on-boarded, all SHG sellers associated with the DAY-NRLM will get to avail benefits and guidance in growing their businesses online.
Singh further said that this partnership between DAY-NRLM and JioMart will add to efforts of the Ministry towards income enhancement of SHG Didis. The mission is working to increase the income of SHGs on sustainable basis and this step will add to our initiatives towards it.
Complementing the stakeholders, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development Swati Sharma said that the Ministry is committed to support enhancement in livelihood opportunities of SHGs and the partnership with JioMart will help in this direction.
Director, Rural Livelihoods, Ministry of Rural Development Raghvendra Pratap Singh gave an overview of the MoU’s key objectives and said that the SHGs strength is recognised and acknowledged by the nation today and such partnership will further strengthen the various marketing initiative like SARAS too.
Commenting on the association, President and Chief of Public Policy and Regulatory, Reliance Retail Limited, Dr. Ravi Prakash Gandhi said that Partnering with MoRD is our first step to many more such fruitful associations in the future. We firmly believe and embrace the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and this partnership helps us align and further strengthens our commitment. We aim to transform the digital retail ecosystem in the country and through this collaboration we want to empower growth and also facilitate digitization of millions of SHGs. I am sure this initiative will play a pivotal role in transforming lives and strengthen the livelihoods of local artisans and small businesses in India.
JioMart will also help set-up and support them to navigate and operate their account on the marketplace. Additionally, JioMart will jointly participate in trainings and workshops facilitated by MoRD to enable sellers to familiarize selling experience on the portal. Further to ensure sustained growth and business stability, JioMart will provide post-launch training and support to help sellers grow their business on the marketplace and will also be offered to participate in a variety of marketing promotions on the platform.
This alliance will bring SHGs under MoRD’s SARAS collection brand onto JioMart offering a range of handlooms and handicrafts products from traditional textiles to pantry, home décor and beauty products. /BI/
